The state health department told a Dover convenience store last week to stop selling water ice after officials received a complaint that the business did not have a proper permit, according to inspection reports.

The counter where water ice was being sold remained closed Wednesday, but the rest of the store is open.

Owner Fawaz Ismeil described the situation as a "misunderstanding." He did not realize he needed an additional license to sell the water ice. Ismeil said is waiting to receive his license.

"I want to be straight up. I don’t want to do anything wrong," he said. "I’ve been in this country for 20 years, and I have done everything the right way."

Health officials received the complaint on Sept. 19 that Country Farm at 101 S. Little Creek Road was operating without a food permit. The ice cream is "uncovered and people are scooping themselves," the complaint said.

An inspector went to the business the next day and found water ice and ice in Styrofoam cups being sold to customers, the report said. The inspector told the store to remove the water ice and ice.

When the inspector followed up with the business on Sept. 21, the official found Country Farm still had water ice and ice in Styrofoam cups, despite it being instructed to throw it out. The inspector wrote in the report that he or she would return to the business later that day to see if the water ice had been discarded.

When the inspector returned that day, the water ice and ice were still in the business, resulting in the inspector temporarily closing Country Farm.

"You were instructed to remove water ice from (the) establishment prior to the next morning. This did not happen," the report said. "You were also instructed not to resell ice in Styrofoam cups. This did not happen."

"Do not remove closed sign from door," the report instructed.

Division of Public Health spokeswoman Jennifer Brestel said only the area where Country Farm employees were preparing the water ice is closed.

"The cease and desist still stands until the business is properly permitted to operate as a food establishment," she said in an email.

From January through September, the state has forced more than 34 businesses to close immediately or stop serving food until issues could be addressed, according to inspection reports requested by The News Journal.

It's twice as many as the 17 food serving businesses the state forced to close in 2017.

The News Journal has been requesting restaurant and food establishment health inspection reports because the state Division of Public Health has not been posting the latest information on its website since May 2017.

The state is currently upgrading its computer system. New inspection reports are not expected to be available online before the end of the year.

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or mnewman@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @MereNewman. Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico